COLUMBIA (AP) – The University of Missouri System could soon change how it investigates sexual discrimination, assault and harassment.

The Columbia Daily Tribune reported the Board of Curators plans to vote during its Oct. 2 and 3 meeting on new rules proposed this week by system President Tim Wolfe.

Pending changes would set a tentative period of 60 days for the school to investigate cases of sexual harassment or discrimination.

Sexual assault, stalking and dating violence are federally prohibited under Title IX.

An executive order signed by Wolfe in April makes almost every employee a mandated reporter of any violations.

The most recent proposed changes would require that those employees promptly report any potential abuse.

Violators could face penalties ranging from a reprimand to expulsion if they’re found guilty during an investigation.

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — A student seeking records about the financial relationship between the University of Kansas and the Koch brothers has raised the $1,800 the school required to fulfill her request.

Schuyler Kraus, president of the Students for a Sustainable Future, filed the Kansas open records request last month. She wants to know about the financial relationship between Art Hall, the executive director of the university’s Center for Applied Economics, and billionaires Charles and David Koch.

The Lawrence Journal-World reports that the university told Kraus it would cost $1,800 to provide the information because the request covered more than 10 years and would require the work of several offices.

The American Association of University Professors donated $1,000 to Kraus and other donations helped her raise the rest of the money.

LEAWOOD, Kan. (AP) — The Federal Trade Commission alleges in a lawsuit that a Kansas bitcoin company bilked more than 20,000 customers out of up to $50 million.

The FTC alleges that the Leawood-based company, Butterfly Labs, told consumers that computers could generate bitcoins but didn’t deliver the computers or sent worthless equipment.

The Kansas City Star reports that the FTC said Tuesday the federal court in Kansas City issued a temporary restraining order that shutdown the business.

The company said in a statement that it would fight the federal action and accused the government of wanting to shut down the company.

Bitcoins are a way to buy and sell some goods and services instead of using dollars or other government money.

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — A federal judge has ruled that a lawsuit filed against investment banker Morgan Keegan after the collapse of a proposed artificial sweetener plant in Moberly will be considered a class action.

U.S. District Judge Nanette Laughrey ruled Tuesday that class action is the most efficient way to resolve legal questions for investors in the failed Mamtek factory.

The Columbia Daily Tribune  reports an Alabama man sued Morgan Keegan and legal adviser Armstrong Teasdale in October 2012. The lawsuit seeks returns of investments from 133 people who bought $39 million in bonds between July 2010 and September 2011.

Morgan Keegan sold the bonds to investors to help finance the factory. The project collapsed when Mamtek went bankrupt and couldn’t make its bond payment.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Topeka residents can still legally walk around nude in the city, for now.

The Topeka City Council voted on Tuesday to send to committee a proposal to make public nudity a misdemeanor offense. The issue arose after a man was seen walking nude in south central Topeka near an elementary school earlier this year.

The Topeka Capital-Journal reports the issue was sent to committee after councilman Richard Harmon suggested restricting public nudity only near schools and day cares.

The proposed ban wouldn’t apply to children under 10 or breastfeeding women. Violators could face up to 30 days in jail and/or a fine of between $1 and $499.

Public nudity is not banned by state law or Topeka ordinance, though state law prohibits it in the context of sexual arousal.

ROXANA HEGEMAN, Associated Press

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A new study confirms what anyone watching television in Kansas recently probably knows: political ads in the hotly contested race between Republican incumbent Gov. Sam Brownback and Democratic challenger Paul Davis are flooding the airwaves.

Spending by campaigns and political groups is about seven times more this election than in 2010, when Republicans easily swept all statewide offices in Kansas, according to a report released Wednesday.

The non-partisan Center for Public Integrity estimates $2.2 million has been spent on television ads for statewide offices — or about $1.11 per eligible Kansas voter — so far this election cycle. The center counted a total of 8,967 ads, many of them repeats of the same ad. The governor’s race alone has consumed $2.1 million of that spending.

PASADENA, Calif. (AP) — Wal-Mart is launching a mobile checking account for its customers that will eliminate some of the fees charged by banks.

The company said Wednesday that the GoBank checking account through Green Dot Corp. has no minimum balance requirements or overdraft fees. A monthly membership charge of $8.95 can also be waived if a direct deposit of $500 is made each month.

The company says that credit bureau ratings and other scores traditionally used to determine eligibility are not part of the process.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc., based in Bentonville, Arkansas, already had a relationship with Green Dot, offering prepaid cards from the Pasadena, California-based company.

A MasterCard debit card can be linked to the GoBank account, which can be set up with a starter kit that costs $2.95.

 

OZARK, Mo. (AP) — Three people in Missouri are facing felony theft charges after authorities say they stole aluminum bleachers from an Ozark School District soccer field.

The Springfield News-Leader reports  more than $50,000 worth of bleachers were stolen in August. Christian County deputies say pieces of the bleachers were sold to various recycling centers. They say the sales records led them to the suspects.

They say two men have been arrested and a warrant was issued for a woman’s arrest on Monday. The felony theft charges each are punishable by up to 15 years in prison.